VietNamNet
Bridge – Environmentalists have pointed
out that Vietnam has fallen into the “environment trap” when it compliantly
accepts foreign direct investment projects in dirty industries.
People’s health or industrial factories?
Hundreds
of people in Tien Cat and Tho Son wards in Viet Tri City have been in a state
of anxious suspense for the last three years. They fear that the land where
they have been settling for the last many generations would become the “cancer
villages” due to the terrible smell from the waste water treatment of Miwon –
the South Korean invested enterprise.
However,
Miwon has denied its responsibility for the local residents’ respiratory
diseases, saying that not only Miwon, but a paper and a chemical plant are also
running in the area, and that Miwon has spent 8 billion dong to build a new
waste water treatment system already. Despite the intervention by Phu Tho
provincial competent agencies, Miwon still has not solved the problems.
One
year ago, Long Tech, a company in Que Vo Industrial Cone n Bac Ninh province,
was forced to pay fine for its behavior of discharging toxic substances to the
environment.
The
Phong Ke Paper craft village in Bac Ninh province got well-known in 2010 when
it paid 34 billion dong to the state budget, the highest level among the 19
communes and wards of the city. However, it has also been well-known for
serious environment problems with alarmingly high indexes of toxic substances
in waste water, exhaust fumes and solid waste.
Recently,
the Nghe An provincial authorities had a working session with the Thai Duong
pig breeding Company in Do Luong district--requesting the company to take
necessary measures to fix the environment problems. However, no improvement has
been made so far, while local residents continue living in pollution.
The
above said stories, plus many other cases can show the alarmingly serious
situation of air pollution caused by industrial producers. The polluters are
asked to take drastic measures to repair the damages. However, they would not
face any heavy punishment if they deliberately don’t do that.
People
understand that they are always on the disadvantageous position in the struggle
with the polluters. Maintaining production to make money proves to be the most
urgent task, and only when people get food and warmth, would they be able to
think about the environment.
Vietnam lacks policies on environment
protection
Dr Phan
Dang Tuat, Head of the Institute for Industrial Strategies under the Ministry
of Industry and Trade, said the alarm bell about the serious pollution has been
rung after Vedan or Miwon were discovered as violating the environment laws.
“Vietnam
is lacking the strict policies on environment protection. We have been trying
to attract investment to develop, therefore, we have fallen into the
“environment trap,” becoming the country which receives dirty industries of the
world,” Tuat said.
Brewery
and drink, seafood, paper and textile are the industries which may have serious
impacts on the water environment, while construction, mechanical engineering,
transport, electricity and mining on the air environment.
Also
according to Tuat, if Vietnam continues loosening the control over the imported
technologies, the environment pollution would become even more serious. He has
estimated the pollution may cause the loss of 1.2 percent of GDP by 2020.
Source:
Nguoi dua tin
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